1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of computer keyboards and more specifically to emoticon and abbreviation keys for computer keyboards.
2. Description of Related Art
Like the telegraph and the telephone, the Internet has changed the way people communicate. With the advent of email, cell phones, voice over IP and teleconferencing, people are able to immediately communicate at virtually any time and in almost any place. As a result, vast amounts of information are hurled back and forth over the Internet every second of every day. Instant messaging, in particular, has enjoyed increasing success. One popular instant messaging application, America Online (AOL) Instant Messenger, boasts 140 million registered users. Instant messaging, also known as chatting, allows users to instantly exchange text, graphic, audio and video messages.
Because instant messaging applications are typically used to exchange text messages, users have engaged their imagination to supplement the instant messaging experience. One product of the increasing popularity of instant messaging is the creation of abbreviations and emoticons. An abbreviation is a shortened set of alphanumeric characters that represent a longer phrase or set of words. The purpose of an abbreviation is to save time when typing a message. For example, one popular abbreviation is xe2x80x9cAWK,xe2x80x9d which stands for xe2x80x9caway from keyboard.xe2x80x9d Another abbreviation is xe2x80x9cHRU,xe2x80x9d which stands for xe2x80x9cHow are you?xe2x80x9d The term emoticon comes from the phrase xe2x80x9cemotion iconxe2x80x9d and comprises a symbol used to convey an emotion, a state of mind or any other concept. Emoticons are often used to convey a thought without using words. An emoticon can be a text emoticon, such as the smiley face: ) or it can be a graphic emoticon.
One problem with instant messaging is that the user must type all text information that is exchanged. This can be tedious and time consuming. Although the use of emoticons and abbreviations shorten the number of keys that must be pressed to convey a concept, the user must still press a certain number of keys to convey the shortened abbreviation or emoticon. Take, for example, the xe2x80x9cAWKxe2x80x9d abbreviation. This seemingly short abbreviation requires the pressing of six keys to type: Shift-A-Shift-W-Shift-K. Accordingly, there exists a need to further shorten the number of key presses necessary to convey an abbreviation or emoticon.
Another problem with current instant messaging environments is that the user is confined to the keys on his keyboard. With the myriad of abbreviations, text emoticons and graphic emoticons available, the user must choose from a finite and rather small set of keys to produce one of many symbols. This results in the user having to press more than one key or using a graphical menu to choose an abbreviation or emoticon for display. This can be confusing and distracting to the instant messaging experience. Accordingly, there exists a need to provide additional keys to the user.
Yet another problem with current instant messaging environments is that abbreviations and emoticons, like language, fluctuate in an out of vogue. As a result, when an emoticon or abbreviation is provided in a permanent manner such as in a menu item, the usability of the application program may decrease as emoticons and abbreviations eventually become obsolete. Accordingly, there exists a need for user-definable abbreviations and emoticons.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above, and particularly for a way to efficiently generate emoticons and abbreviations while instant messaging.
Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, disclosed is a keyboard for generating emoticons and abbreviations. In an embodiment of the present invention, the system includes a keyboard including keys representing emoticons and keys representing abbreviations. The system further includes a keyboard processor in the keyboard, wherein the keyboard processor produces enhanced scan codes when keys representing emoticons and keys representing abbreviations are pressed in the keyboard. The system further includes a keyboard driver on a computer system for interfacing with the keyboard, wherein the keyboard driver receives the enhanced scan codes and determines the emoticons or abbreviations corresponding to the enhanced scan codes. Lastly, the system includes an application, such as an instant messaging application, a word processor or an email application, on the computer system for interfacing with the keyboard driver. The application receives the emoticons or abbreviations determined by the keyboard driver and displays an image corresponding to the emoticons or abbreviations.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the system includes a keyboard attachment including keys representing emoticons and keys representing abbreviations, wherein the keyboard attachment is coupled to a keyboard. The system further includes a keyboard processor in the keyboard attachment, wherein the keyboard processor produces enhanced scan codes when keys representing emoticons and keys representing abbreviations are pressed in the keyboard attachment. The system further includes a keyboard driver on a computer system for interfacing with the keyboard attachment, wherein the keyboard driver receives the enhanced scan codes and determines the emoticons or abbreviations corresponding to the enhanced scan codes. Lastly, the system includes an application on the computer system for interfacing with the keyboard driver, wherein the application receives the emoticons or abbreviations determined by the keyboard driver and displays an image corresponding to the emoticons or abbreviations.
The described embodiments of the present invention are advantageous as they allow for the quick and easy generation of emoticons and abbreviations during execution of an application. This results in a more pleasurable and less time-consuming experience while using the application. Another advantage of the present invention is the availability of additional keys on a keyboard. This provides more key options for the user during execution of the application and saves time and resources. Yet another advantage of the present invention is the easy installation of the keyboard. This results in increased usability and user-friendliness of the keyboard.